2014 Arch Awards: St. Louis Community MVPs

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Adam Wainwright: As well as being the MVP of the St. Louis sports scene on the field, Wainwright is one of the MVPs off of it as well. His most prominent charitable initiative is through his foundation, Big League Impact, which supports various charitable causes through fundraising by way of fantasy football.

Wainwright started the program in 2013 by offering people in the St. Louis community the opportunity to pay a hefty fee in order to participate in a fantasy football league with him and several other Cardinal teammates, which included a luxurious draft day experience at Busch Stadium, with all the proceeds going to charities including Operation Food Search, Habitat for Humanity, and Cardinals Care, as well as the Big League Impact Basic Needs Initiative, which provides basic needs such as food, water, and shelter to underprivileged people in both the U.S. and foreign countries.

After the initiative achieved immense success during its inaugural year, Wainwright decided to go nationwide and recruited over 60 players in cities across Major League Baseball, including Skip Schumaker, Max Scherzer, and Clayton Kershaw, to be part of leagues in their respective cities. Through the nationwide Big League Impact program, 25 percent of each fantasy league’s proceeds go to Wainwright’s Basic Needs Initiative, while the other 75 percent go to a charity of the player’s choice.

In addition to Big League Impact, Wainwright is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has helped raise funds for Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center and the Make-a-Wish foundation. He also took a traveled to Haiti last offseason to help raise awareness for the global water crisis.

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